onward & upward !

[s-paceape]

What was the ape's name again? Was it Winston? Winston Overwatch? Eh, that doesn't sound right.

handy links: promo / memes

guidelines under the cut:

written by lee, 30, he or she pronouns. 10+ years of experience & looking to keep this space casual - expect slow replies and spotty activity. i'm pretty relaxed about this hobby, so not too much to go over here:

18+. this blog is absolutely fully sfw, i'm just not interested in writing with minors.

basic rp etiquette applies. let's communicate, respect one another, and we're gold.

i tend to send in multiple options when folks reblog memes. you don't have to respond to all, or any. there's never any pressure to continue an interaction. drop threads as you see fit. we can always start more!

[watchiingover]

An independent, private and selective multimuse blog featuring characters from Blizzard’s 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇. All muses are multiverse and multiship. Please read guidelines before following. Penned by 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐄 / 𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍. — ˚₊‧꒰ა 𓂋 ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

[s-paceape]

when it comes to the fate of the lunar colony I kind of believe that Winston didn't actually tell anyone what exactly happened up there. this is less from a 'if I tell anyone the moon gorillas murdered all the scientists they'll take me out back and shoot me' standpoint and more from a 'half of my family murdered the other half of my family and I don't think anyone but me really needs to unpack that' standpoint. not that that means he Is unpacking it

[warwaited]

It's been said that the less you have, the harder you fight for it. It's a pithy statement about human endurance, the drive to survive - the fell spectre of ultimate loss that drives people to acts of incredible bravery or selflessness. There is, however, a footnote to this epithet, and Xue is currently embodying it to the utmost.

She's had difficulty explaining from whence her power flows. There are generalities, the outline of something. She talks about some kind of device, something that they had to "open her up and close her up after" to "give" her. So far, Xue's mainly shown that potential when she's been sparring with other agents. The training bots don't spark it off. Proving herself against another person does. It fills some kind of a need, gives her fuel, lets the engine run a little hotter, a little longer.

Right now, the engine is roaring. She'd taken a hit from the butt of a gun to the side of the head earlier and all it had done was briefly disorient her... and damage her commlink. Thankfully, she hasn't lost contact with Winston. Less thankfully, he's now hearing everything, and the only response to his rapid-fire questions is a raw-throated cackle.

"NOBODY comes into my house and gets away with it- YOU'RE ALL DEAD!" There's that possessive streak Athena had mentioned after her first proper psych evaluation. These Talon fighters are encroaching on what's hers. Xue hadn't liked the idea of sharing food, let alone having a home that until recently she apparently hadn't been sure she'd ever have invaded by faceless, gun-toting goons. This is a defence mechanism.

It has also been said that the best defence is a good offence.

[s-paceape]

The watchpoint has been a home to him for years. It's the only one he has left, really. Winston has seen it in every state of repair, at its most bustling and its most dilapidated, but he has never seen it like this, not to such an extent. The damage is only truly apparent once he leaves the command center; bullet holes in the concrete, glass on every walkway. He tries not to think of the data that must have already been stolen before he'd managed to lock down their systems - a temporary stopgap that won't do them any good if they're unable to push Talon back.

With Sojourn in his ear attempting to coordinate a retreat to the hangar, he's not so sure they're performing very well on that front anymore. More concerningly, Xue does not acknowledge the order to fall back, perhaps because she's presently preoccupied drowning out every other voice on Winston's comm line. He's at once both immensely glad to not be on the receiving end of her threat and immensely worried - to perform well in training is one thing; to face the concentrated might of Talon alone is another.

That's the part that worries him, the alone part, for if she were anywhere near the hangar someone would have called it out. No one has, though, and he cannot shake off the concerning notion that he has never heard Xue sound like this before, not in any of the sparring matches he's observed, no matter how heated they could get.

He'd spent Overwatch's twilight years running missions with Genji and Lena, of all people. He's not unfamiliar with the notion of his teammates pushing themselves beyond their limits - and not inexperienced enough to believe it isn't, at times, necessary. But it never worries him any less, and rather than rallying at the hangar Winston turns in the other direction. He knows this base like the back of his hand, and, more importantly, few people on the team are capable of covering more ground than an eight-foot gorilla with a jetpack.

"Are you— never mind." He gets the feeling this will be a distinctly one-sided line of questioning. "I'm on the way!"

...It can't be that difficult to follow the sound of shouting.

[s-paceape]

@aglobhadh: You've quite the knack for finding the bright side of things, haven't you?

He gets the feeling it's not a compliment, but Winston has been called far worse things than optimistic before. A sideways glance is cast over, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but the observation was seemingly only that: an observation.

"Because there's always a bright side to be found! I get some of my most valuable data from failed experiments - see? There's one thing to be positive about right there."

[antariazo]

Leon has been in the engineering bay for the last-- oh, wow, it's really been a few hours now.

He's at a workbench, his left arm resting on the table, while his right hand holds a narrow-tipped screwdriver of some kind. He offers a small smile to Winston, and upon seeing the generous plate of sandwiches, he's reminded that he hasn't eaten since early this morning.

"No, no, you're alright," he assures him. "I didn't intend to miss dinner, I just... was trying to see if I could do some repairs myself. Maybe save some other folks the time." The admission is awkward, especially with how slow of a time he's had of it. "I think maybe the answer is 'no, not really'... I did it, but... assuming I didn't fuck it up, I think anyone with more than one hand to spare could have done it in less than half the time."

"Feel free to stick around if you want, I just have to put a couple pieces back on."

[s-paceape]

The plate is set aside on the workbench, mostly so he can meander a little closer to get a better look at the work. He's a scientist, not an engineer, though he dabbles in the latter plenty; enough to scrutinize Leon's handiwork.

"You shouldn't worry about that. We're all more than happy to help," or at least he is, but he likes to think the view is shared. "But the time you took doesn't matter - the quality of the work does, and I think you did a fine job! You'll get faster the more you work at it. It used to take me hours just to perform field repairs on my shield generator."

Even then it didn't really do much in the way of shielding, not for a long time. Mostly it exploded. There's a reason he only dabbles in engineering. Making a chronal accelerator or a space shuttle every now and then is all fine and well, but it's always the work of months, and many, many failed prototypes.

"I'd like to stay and observe, if you really don't mind the company. I can be quiet!"

[s-paceape]

@warwaited: "In the middle of a Talon attack" might not be the best time to learn things about the new "recruit", but at the very least the sound of hollering through her commlink sounds gleeful(...?) and not terrified. Unfortunately... "CAN'T DO AAANYTHING TO ME!" ...it's becoming increasingly obvious what Xue meant when she told him that he might find out what's wrong with her "before she tells him".

In Winston's defense, testing the combat capabilities - and limits - of the newer members of the team was on his to-do list. Go figure Talon got the jump on him there, too. But no one was really optimistic enough to believe they'd be safe from a full-scale attack forever. They were prepared for this - and if the brief, organized chatter on the comms is anything to go by, they're doing a fine job of holding down the—

—well, alright, that was... that one sounded a little less collected. In the midst of redecorating the command center - that is to say, dragging unconscious Talon operatives to one corner of the room and desks in front of the doorways, - he pauses, and hauls himself up by the railing to the second story walkway to survey out the shattered window. There's no one on this side of the tunnel; in the hangar a ways beyond, all he can make out is gunfire. He hopes they haven't gotten as far as the barracks. The worry he'd been pushing away creeps back in.

"Xue?" There's nothing more he can do to secure the command center, regardless. He leaps to the pavement below, already in motion. "Do you need backup? Where are you?"

[warwaited]

"Well, sure, but if it's the first time it's ever happened obviously it's gonna have a weird name for a little while." Xue pushes herself to her feet, having been idle too long to be comfortable and starting to pace while the two of them discuss things. Doesn't seem like she quite understands what she was alluding to when she set her parameters for what he was allowed to do within the bounds of a theoretical test...

Funny enough, there might be a slight comparison to draw between her and the big ape. It's not quite a dangling tire, but Xue moves over to the raised edge of the embankment she'd been sitting on previously and starts doing some hop-ups. Only the toes of her shoes touch the concrete, and, while she's not looking at Winston, she's still listening.

"Mmh. Maybe. I dunno if it's possible to fix what I got, but I do know that there's some really smart people here. Like you. Best case scenarios are cool, but..." A few seconds of silence, and an annoyed huff as the little firestarter shakes her head. "Nah. I've spent enough time being all doom and gloom. Yeah, let's assume it's all gonna be good and we don't gotta worry about it, you're right."

Xue drops down from the ledge again and twists back and forth, working some of the tension out of her spine. The motion pauses, though, when Winston alludes to his own personal history.

Her eyes narrow a bit. She tilts her head.

"...yeah. They were. And y'know, maybe a month ago I would've let it end there. I don't like scientists. I only ever knew the one kind, y'know? I don't like guys who think they gotta get their hands into everything to "figure out how stuff works" or "forge new frontiers". People who think that because they can push the limit of what people can do, they gotta." It's audible that she's working herself up, but Xue gets a handle on it and gently pushes that emotion back down.

"Aaand now I know you. So I guess not all scientists are like that."

[s-paceape]

"First and only time, I hope." He'd taken care, in all his reports and research on the Slipstream incident, to withhold any truly significant details and data, lest someone get the bright idea to create another 'Tracer'. He stands by that decision, even if it means that now everything related to the case is stuck with the label he slapped on it way back when. Though all her restless activity makes him antsy just watching it, he only observes the back-and-forth and up-and-down with a thoughtful frown and a sigh.

"If only we had even more heads around to put together. Back in the glory days - that's, uh, Reinhardt's words, not mine - this place was an international hub of scientific innovation! I wish I'd been around to see it," a wistful reflection he's mourned all too often. By the time he landed on Earth, Overwatch was already dwindling down to a shadow of what it once had been. Now a mere handful of them remain to serve in a research capacity. "A team like that could have solved anything. But... but we can probably get close."

His smile does not inspire confidence, per say, but it is sincere. Winston can't aspire for innovation these days. Can't hope to solve any of their problems, only keep them at bay. If he can keep the team they have, small as it is, alive, frankly that's the best he can hope for. It's a bit more grim than the endless acts of effortless heroism he'd imagined when he first signed on, but then that was a long time ago.

"...Close enough that we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves and plan for the worst."

After all, he has no doubt she can handle herself on the field. He has unwavering confidence in all of them, really; and therefore in her ability to know her limits and not disastrously explode, or - ah, see, now he's catastrophizing, too. Fidgeting, he rises to his fists and feet, paces one way and then the other, then forces himself to sit back down. Better to worry on the inside.

"Hm. The... idea of playing god never sat well with me." And that's all he can think to say on the matter, for even his own mentor had been... like that, at first. Good old fashioned human curiosity outweighed the simple moral question of whether his work was hurting someone, even if that someone was only an animal. "Science is only valuable when it's ethical! I wish everyone agreed, but humans aren't very good at agreeing on anything." He casts a brief glance upwards. "I suppose gorillas aren't, either."

[s-paceape]

The new base just can't compare to Gibraltar. For one, his muffins have come out unevenly baked seven times now and no amount of tinkering with the oven will fix it.

[s-paceape]

you hate to see a dive main enter the room

[s-paceape]

Underrated winston strategy in the cinematics: just throw your teammates to wherever they need to be

[s-paceape]

apologies for general slowness right now. my schedule is wack and I'm struggling to find free time, so just taking things one reply at a time as I'm able

[feeling-of-deja-vu]

Lena quite literally jumped for joy, fist pumping in the air. "All right!" She stepped forward as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, beaming as she spoke. "So, we've got a few options- Juno has been tearing through restaurants around town like a woman possessed! Gave me loads of recommendations," Lena paused with a quizzical expression, "Though... I think her palate might be a bit different... Does Mars have salt?" The next five or so minutes was a torrent of descriptions and menus for various local bistros, steak houses, beachfront confectionary shops- and even a McDonalds. Despite the fact that Overwatch had been stationed at the Watchpoint for years now, they'd almost always been too busy to really engage with the local culture. That, mixed with the fact that their status as an international paramilitary organization also got them more and more of a cold reception as their controversies piled up, meant that many Agents had yet to actually set foot outside the base. However, the new blood on the team had no such reservations. Hana and Juno were frequently seen wandering the streets, laughing all the while. Lucio made appearances at nearby clubs, or supporting buskers on the streets, and even their newest recruits, Wuyang and Anran, were often seen on the beaches participating in small sports games during their off time. It... inspired her. "Alright, so... I'm thinking either Nuevo Hermanos Tomilleros, or Mesón La Gaviota. The first one has better vegetarian options, but the second has to-die-for deserts, and a beachfront view." She looked back to her compatriot, "I'm up for whichever, but, once you pick..." Lena slipped her phone back into her pocket and took a step back, scanning Winston up and down, "We've got to talk about your outfit!"

[s-paceape]

He quickly abandons the notion of cleaning up the remaining work at all. This mess will still be here for him to sort through when he returns; the only one liable to get into it is Fika, and, well, she'd manage that no matter where he put it. Smart, that cat. Smart and nosy.

"Has she?" That makes him chuckle, hauling himself away from his workbench to stretch - and wincing, as Athena may have had a point with all her comments about his posture being terrible for his back. "That's wonderful! I'm glad she's getting out of the Watchpoint. If the hydroponics lab on Mars is anything like ours was, I'm sure she's itching for options."

The lunar colony was big on potatoes. Winston still doesn't care for them much, even now.

That Juno and the rest of their recruits had bonded so quickly, and were making the most of a decidedly unconventional tenure with Overwatch, did make him feel a bit better about their circumstances. It would be easy to lose spirit, seeing how small their numbers were and the less-than-warm response they had received from the world at large. Winston had questioned the recall nearly every day since activating it. Seeing such certainty amongst their newest members was heartening.

"A view of the beach sounds nice." As always, he wasn't particularly concerned with what was on the menu. Few places were prepared to accommodate the dietary specifications and portion sizes of a genetically engineered gorilla. It was really more about the experience, he thought. "I've, uh... I think I've got a couple sweaters lying around here, somewhere..?"

The days of press conferences and fancy dinners were years behind them. His list of reasons to make a public appearance without donning his armor had dwindled.

[chaiisms]

BALDURS GATE 3 PARTY BANTER PROMPTS LIST.

all of the following prompts are taken from party banter between the companions in larian studios' baldurs gate 3 (2023). there should be no spoilers! also, a disproportionate amount of these are from astarion and karlach. i'm not sorry.

I am enjoying our walks together, aren't you, [ name ]?

You'll be as depraved as the rest of us in no time.

Friend of yours?

Were you always so sneaky?

If there's hope for me there's hope for anyone.

How are we not there yet? My feet are killing me.

This is what I get for trying to strike up conversation.

We're not going to have trouble, are we?

If we continue this way, we may get too close for comfort.

Don't get too comfortable. We shouldn't overstay our welcome in such a place.

Do you have pet names for each other yet?

[ name ]! Was that a joke?

You know what - that is not the easiest of questions for me to answer.

Given your own nature, are you really the one to judge?

You can read?!

I'm surprised - I expected you to turn your back once you got what you wanted.

I wouldn't know a flirtation if you whacked me alongside the head with it.

Why stay somewhere safe and comfortable when we could be in mortal peril?

Can't say I love what they've done with the place.

I'm learning to enjoy the taste of chaos. Count me in.

At least you didn't tell me to 'be myself'.

You have so much to learn. Repeat after me: honey muffin, sweetie pie, sugarplum.

Nice to be in a crowd of normal people for once.

So [ name ], how is your sad, hopeless pining going?

You seemed a million miles away just then.

I fear I've been rather hasty to judge you, [ name ].

Ready to enter the belly of the beast?

Step one of starting a conversation: think before you speak.

I hear your relationship has taken on a new aspect recently…

All right, just keep it down. We're conspicuous enough without your hyena call.

Not one for roughing it, I see.

Why not have a little fun?

You're right, of course. Forgive me.

My money's on you, [ name ].

The echoes - listen! They're coming from three directions!

Want me to carry you?

Feeling at home?

Treat them right, or you'll have me to answer to.

Oh, darling, would you?

No doubt they found me too intimidating.

A girl could get used to this.

Now I don't know what to believe.

Well - yes, it was a joke.

I know that, too. It just wasn't funny.

And here I thought I rubbed you the wrong way.

Man, it's good to be home. First round on who?

Oh, I wouldn't actually leave. After all, where would you be without me?

You've quite the knack for finding the bright side of things, haven't you?

Well what would impress you, then?

Let's just stop this conversation right here, shall we?

Must've been an awful day for the people who lived here

You've clearly thought this through a great deal. I'm impressed and appalled in equal measure.

Sure, but think of the stories you'll be able to tell.

I never was scared of the shadows.

I know you're not really as heartless as all that.

I judged you wrongly. I'm sorry.

Are you charging for this sage advice, or is sticking your nose into my business just a hobby?

Pragmatism, thy name is [ name ].

That's ironic, coming from you.

We're either very clever or very lucky.

You do not need luck to survive, [ name ]. Not when you have me.

That will make getting word to my mother rather tricky.

Stop gawking at the decor. This place is dangerous.

I can't tell if you're joking.

So, what's it like caring for someone other than yourself, [ name ]?

You think I'm beautiful?

I feel it too. Here if you need a pick-me-up.

Yet another thing we have in common. We're two peas in a pod.

Is it so unbelievable that they would simply like me?

Use your words.

You gonna catch me if I eat a brick?

[ name ], I've heard you talking in your sleep.

Let's never speak of this again.

You can take a day off once in a while, [ name ]

Hey! Something bit me.

Cheer up. It might be all downhill from here.

I love a nice secret hideaway, don't you?

Think the bar is open?

[s-paceape]

most important thing overwatch ever gave me: insight into how winston texts

[warwaited]

Xue nods again, correcting herself after his clarification. "Chronically... dissociated. Dissociated... in time." Good! She's got another piece of the puzzle, she just needs to figure out what dissociating is. Fortunately, pondering the mysteries of vocabulary is enough to steer her away from the prospect of being experimented on, and with a small, stabilizing breath, reaches over to pat Winston's knee.

Well... more like smack it. He's a big guy, he needs big gestures of camaraderie. Smack smack.

"Uhm... if you wanted to learn more about it sometime, though, in a not-experimenty way, I could do that. Just- let's do it outside? And I don't want anybody sticking anything onto me." Ground rules are important. When she'd first been brought in, her introduction to Doctor Ziegler had been somewhat more spirited than Winston's - she'd realized that she was in an examination room when a person entered wearing a lab coat, hit some kind of wrestling move on the poor woman, and after a half hour of searching had to be coaxed down from the roof of the radar building.

Since then she hasn't had another incident, but she also hasn't had anything even resembling a checkup. Xue takes her first impressions and runs with them.

"...if I do need help, I'll let you know. I promise." A brief, unhappy silence, and she continues in a slightly more grim tone. "Or, uh... you might find out before I tell you. But I'm gonna try and make sure that doesn't happen. Just- yeah. I don't..."

Xue's eyes rise to meet his, and she makes a bit of a face, trying to put out into the air the thoughts swirling in her head. Her mouth opens, closes, then opens again, breath taken a couple seconds before she finds the words.

"I've never met a scientist like you before. And the ones I have met..."

He doesn't wanna know what happened to 'em.

[s-paceape]

"Not entirely accurate," he confesses with a stilted smile, because the reality is that Lena's condition is something not even Winston fully understands, and not for lack of studying, "but I, uh, needed something to refer to in my reports."

But pondering the great puzzle of non-linear temporality is neither here nor there, and though he at first looks surprised, the smile becomes more genuine at her attempt at solidarity. "Oh, only if you'd like to. Of course I'm curious, but certainly not curious enough to run you through a gauntlet of tests. I try not to stick anything onto anyone unless it's a matter of absolute scientific necessity!" He straightens himself up, only a little offended at the implication otherwise.

Researching live subjects isn't typically on his to-do list. That's more Dr. Ziegler's area - Winston is much more comfortable limiting his expertise, in most cases, to equipment repairs instead. Knowing the ins and outs of every weapon or tool the team uses is much less daunting than keeping up with their medical records.

"And I'd rather that not be the case. If anything does happen, we can fix it," and it's not bravado speaking, but pure conviction, coming from someone who has seen time and time again the medical and scientific miracles made by possible by a team of people who quite sincerely do not believe in impossibilities. "Hopefully it won't ever come to that. I prefer to always plan for the best case scenario!"

...The backup plans for the worst case scenarios are also typically not his job. Sojourn tends to anticipate that sort of thing. He's more of an 'act first, worry about it quietly afterwards' sort of guy. He shakes his head as she goes on.

"You don't have to explain anything to me. The scientists on the lunar base were my friends, but," Winston finds himself in the similar position of not knowing quite what to say, and his brow furrows. He has always felt like it would taint their memory, to remember the bad parts of what they'd done to achieve their goals; surely it was outweighed by the net good of having created him, and the others like him. "But... they were also scientists."

[feeling-of-deja-vu]

Lena immediately begins parsing through the heap of wires, eager to help how ever she can. It wasn't often that she was able to provide Winston much assistance in the lab, given the typical complexity of his projects, but any time the opportunity arose, be it testing new weapons or helping calibrate the on-site turret targeting systems, she was always first in line.

Unfortunately, at the current moment, the small joy she felt was rather quickly chased off by the clear signs of burnout her friend was showing off.

As he continued to list off job after job, a frown settled on the pilots face, a thing altogether unnatural for her features. She blinked once more off the desk and to the scientists side.

"Say, Winston... I know you're busy and all, but... what would you say about a night out? Just the two of us? Its been ages since we've had a date."

She raised an empathetic hand to rest on his shoulder as she offered a warm smile.

'"Come on, big guy. Grab dinner with me?"

[s-paceape]

He can see it out of the corner of his vision, the growing concern radiating off her, which would be touching under most circumstances. But Tracer can be a solution-oriented sort of person— he supposes none of them would be in Overwatch, not after all this time, if they did not possess some innate drive to fix things— which he figures means he's about to get forcibly removed from every project he's currently buried under.

Lo and behold. The look he gives her is distinctly nervous. "Out? As in out? Of here?" He hopes not: the last time he left Gibraltar for any purpose that was not directly related to Overwatch business was... was...

...Hm. Before he'd issued the recall, certainly. Maybe before they were shut down in the first place.

"I don't know, Lena... I've got a lot of work to do, and— and besides, I—" Winston can fumble for an additional excuse all he wants; he knows he'll cave, and he's fairly certain that she knows he'll cave, because whatever worry he feels about leaving behind his work or getting in anyone's way on any sort of outing is outweighed by the fact that it has been ages, and he's missed her.

"...Alright." It takes zero convincing, really, because most of his counterpoints were worn down years ago when he'd first begun to count Lena as a friend. The smile is easily returned. "What'd you have in mind?"